CAIR-New York Calls On New York Congressional Delegation to Investigate Why More Than 1400 Private Companies Have Secret Access to Illegal Watchlist
(NEW YORK, NY, 2/21/19) – The New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the New York Congressional Delegation to investigate why the federal government has given more than 1,400 private companies access to the unconstitutional terrorist watchlist.
CAIR: Feds Share Terrorist Watchlist with 1,400 Private Groups (AP)
https://apnews.com/ae4779a057c04947a332fce64f6cf345
The federal government's disclosure comes in response to a court order obtained by CAIR in its legal challenge to the watchlisting system (El Hady v. Kable). After years of denying that the watchlist is available to private companies, the government’s disclosure raises critical questions about how the watchlist is shared and what recipients of watchlist information -- which include hospitals and universities, among other private entities -- do with that access.
"The secret dissemination of the watchlist to private companies is further evidence that the watchlisting system is unconstitutional and designed to stigmatize innocent Muslims,” said CAIR New York Litigation Director Ahmed Mohamed. "The watchlist has wreaked havoc on the lives of countless Muslim New Yorkers, and we call on the New York congressional representatives to investigate the federal government’s secretive and illegal sharing of watchlisting information to private companies."
[MEDIA ADVISORY: Whether this disclosure complies with the federal court's order to provide comprehensive information about private sector dissemination is subject to a pending legal dispute, which will be heard by a federal judge this Friday in Alexandria, Va. 10 a.m., Judge Anderson’s Chambers, Eastern District of Virginia, 401 Courthouse Sq., Alexandria, VA 22314]
For years, CAIR has represented innocent Muslims -- people who have not been charged, arrested, or convicted of a violent offense -- who have been targeted by the watchlisting system. Some have lost jobs, been separated from their families, and all have been stigmatized by being treated as a “terrorist” by their own government.
SEE: Detroit Mother Calls Out Feds For Breaking Up Family, Files Lawsuit
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-NY Litigation Director Ahmed Mohamed, 646-481-2103, ahmedmohamed@cair.com; CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher, 917-669-4006, anasher@cair.com.